Enzerusu over Chance
by mykingdomfan
Summary: The feeling of being Inadequate, knowing you will never measure up. The fear of failing, failing what you've never known. Deep inside you are scared, deep inside you accept the choices thrust upon you. Deep inside you wish for freedom. A way to break the chains that your parents have on you. The looks that mean you aren't enough. Second Gen Fic, OCs, R/R Rated T/M, V, L, IT/SC
1. Prolodge

Alright, to keep anyone from getting way too confused, go read about the OC's on my profile, if not I cannot be blamed it you get confused, I'm trying to help you out! If you think the first chapter should be a info of all OC's let me know, I can only make this story good if you help! This takes place roughl 20 or so years after DoC in, where else, Edge, the city of Edge.

This story is being betaed by a wonderful author and friend, Siren Mist, she has a awesome story Burden of Innocent, if you haven't read it, read it! This is my first story to do fully with a betaer, (I haven't a clue what you call someone who beta's), I already have chapter's one and two done, three is on the way! This story is taking its own life, a bit creepy if you ask me, but let me know if its good. Now I'm pretty sure you are all tired of my endless chatter so...Onto a pointless prolodge!

* * *

"Run, run, run!" A brownish/black haired young man commanded as he and his companion ran as fast as their legs could carry them; Zack Strife and Denus Highwind were running for their lives, from something so horrible it made Sephiroth seem tame! At least from their parent's stories, at seeing the big sign that said, "Seventh Heaven", Zack breathed a sigh of relief -home base! The two dived for the front door, panting heavily as they lay sprawled out on the cool hardwood floor. Home base, they were safe.

"Zack Strife! Denus Highwind! I will _kill_ your sorry asses!"

Jerking their heads up at hearing a distinctly angry female voice, Denus groaned, "Why did I let you talk me into making my girlfriend hate me?"

Grinning like an idiot, Zack patted Denus on the back, hard, making him groan. "Keeps the spark alive, my friend!"

Looking at a brown shoe tapping against the floor, the two young men followed it up to see Tifa Strife with her arms crossed, glaring them down, and a young blonde beauty copying her stance perfectly.

"Mom! Genny!" Zack cried, standing up. Dragging Denus with him, the two raced to hide behind the counter."You don't mind letting your favorite son and nephew hide do you? Of course you don't!"

Tifa glanced over at her daughter, both had matching looks of disbelief. Before they could even attempt to punish the two boys,the door swung open to reveal a blonde woman, soaking wet, anger clear in her split colored eyes. "Where are the idiots?"

Geniji shrugged and pointed to the counter. "Please don't destroy it, it cost good money."

Tifa shot her daughter a disbelieving look, her children still causing mass destruction even in their early twenties. "I'm not sure whether I want you to mean the counter, or your brother."

Geniji shrugged, walking over to a table and picked up her book. "For right now, we'll leave it ambiguous."

"Hold up, Missy! God, you're fast when you're angry!" A red haired and brown haired girl appeared in the doorway, both panting as they leaned on each other. They had spent the better part of the hot afternoon chasing down a pissed Turk in training -bad idea all around.

Pushing her hair back agitatedly, the redhead looked around for sign of the two idiot boys, opening her mouth to offer a smart mouthed comment. However, the only thing that came out was a yelp as she and her friend fell down with two boys on top of them.

Pushing himself up, Grimoire Valentine stared in shock at seeing Ralu beneath him. Her surprise lasted for five seconds before it turned into a shark like grin.

"Like what you see?" She winked at him as he sputtered in shock. The one problem with her was she had no qualms about making him flustered. He was never more thankful to be pulled up by his big sister. Valonica arched an eyebrow at her brother's red face, but one look at Ralu told her all she needed to know.

Ryfi groaned at the weight on top of her, what hit them? Opening her eyes, she felt her whole face flush as Clyan groaned and pushed himself up.

"Ryfi? What happened?" She truly wished her mouth was working –unfortunetly, it seemed to be cut off. And what was worse, as Ralu stood up, she could see the evil glint in her friend's eyes.

"What do you think happened? You boys just wanted a chance to see us under you, not that I blame ya!"

Clyan's, Grimoire's and Ryfi's eyes all widened at Ralu's blunt words. At seeing their flustered faces, she burst out into loud guffaws; teasing them was sometimes too easy! She was still laughing as she leaned against the doorway. Clyan and Ryfi got up and glared at her. Sometimes, Ralu's teasing boarder lined on plain torture. Did she hate them?

"Pardon me, 'cuse me! Watch it!" A dripping wet, black haired young woman maneuvered her way through the crash pile of teenagers. Entering the bar area, she scanned it for her friends. Tifa had left, probably to go warn Cloud, Misaine was leaning over the counter, and Geniji was reading a book. Lilaye glanced over to her best friend. Without looking up from her book, Geniji pointed to the bar counter. Nodding, Lilaye walked over and suppressed a giggle at hearing Misaine's annoyed voice.

"Denus, I'm giving you the option of surrender-take it!"

Lilaye smiled at the older woman before jumping over the counter and pulling both boys up by their shirt collars. Misaine smirked and jumped over the counter also, the boy's eyes wide with fear.

_'As it should be,'_ Misaine thought briefly.

"Missy, surrender is too nice an option for them," she said in a sickly sweet voice, matching her sickly sweet smile, "don'tcha agree?" She looked over at the older woman, who had held her chin in her hand.

After a couple of anxious seconds, she nodded. "I believe you're right, Lil. Maybe I'm going soft..."

Moving to where she held both boys by one hand, she patted her shoulder sympathetically. "No, no. You're not going soft at all! I considered it too, but then it hit me!"

Denus sighed and accepted his fate. It really wasn't one of Zack's smarter ideas- in fact, it was plain stupid. But Zack insisted. Now, Zack couldn't even accept his punishment. He was struggling to get out of Lilaye's grip, which was nearly impossible as she had uncanny strength -probably from her father.

"Oh, what was that?" Misaine asked, tilting her head, the two girls were ignoring the boys as they carried on a normal conversation, as if the boys weren't even there, "groveling!" Lilaye said it with such enthusiasm, the older woman chuckled. Zack ceased his struggling briefly, before trying even harder. He would not grovel! He was Zack Strife, for lifestream's sake! Why the hell couldn't he get out of an eighteen year olds grip?

An evil idea took over, stopping his struggling. As both girl's debated on the boy's punishment, he struck, tickling Lilaye mercilessly. Her laughter loosened her grip. Grinning, he grabbed a stunned Denus and ran away from the two women. Growling the two women's good moods vanished as they chased them around the bar. Genji looked up in partway annoyance, partway amusement. Standing up, Geniji attempted to stop this.

"Listen, you guys. Why can't-"

Her talking was cut off from shock as Zack grabbed her and used her as a shield. She blinked, stunned at this turn of events.

"Wait, you wouldn't hurt your best friend, right?" Zack asked with a slight plead in his voice Geniji's eyes narrowed at being used as a shield. Turning around, she pushed him away and the chase began again.

The five teenagers from inside stopped and watched in slight amusement, with Ralu crying out in excitement, "free for all!"

Before she started chasing them, groaning, Ryfi chased after her friend, Clyan chased after her, and Grimoire and Valonica chased after their sister. The group chased each other around the bar, destroying it immensely, bar tables and chairs were knocked and turned upside down. When it seemed it couldn't get any worse, Trainor, RJ, and Kalane appeared from the steps. The three glanced at each other, shrugged and joined in the chase.

|X|X|X|

"Tifa, are you sure it was a good idea to leave all the kids alone in your bar?" Yuffie asked, knowing that her plan was asking for destruction-maybe Tifa wanted to renovate?

Tifa rolled her eyes, as she approached the kitchen door. Tifa nodded. "They're not kids anymore Yuffie, they've all pretty much grown up." Behind her stood the entire AVALANCE crew, along with the Turks. It was a monthly gathering so the kids could catch up -how much trouble could a group of young adults and teenager get into?

Opening the door, the group stopped and stared at what _was_ her bar. Beer and other assorted alcoholic drinks were everywhere, tables and chairs were turned upside down it looked like a war zone. In the middle of it all, the children brawled, various yelps and cries emitting from the chaos. Each parent stood, shell-shocked, until Cait Sith stood on his creator's head and let out a long piercing whistle.

The fighting stopped abruptly as all the children glanced up at their not-so amused parents. All simultaneously gulped, knowing the trouble they were in and the punishment they were going to endure.

The thick silence was broken by Lilaye as she grinned up at her father, her head on Zack's chest and her feet coming dangerously close to kicking Trainor. Much like her mother, she spoke first, cheerfully announcing. "Hi, Daddy! This, uh, isn't what it looks like!"


	2. Whose Shoes to Fill?

"Zack, for all that's good, you're twenty-one years old!"

Zack resisted the urge to roll his eyes as his father lecturedhim. They had this speech at least once a week. His dad would lecture him, and if he could convince his siblings to join in on it got his siblings in on it, mom would give them a stern talking to, and he would get off fairly scott-free.

"When are you gonna grow up?" Cloud Strife agitatedly ran a hand through his hair, which surprisingly didn't have any grey due to what Reeve clarified as the group's exposure to Mako, and also the Lifestream, meaning they wouldn't age quickly.

Zack sat on his bed, watching his father pace He just wanted to have fun, was that so wrong? No, no it wasn't. What was wrong with embracing childhood at the age of twenty-one? He needed to have fun before he took over his father's business, which, from the looks of things, could be any day just to, "Teach him a lesson."

"Zack, I don't know what your problem is," Cloud ranted, and he really didn't. Zack had always been a troublemaker, even at age one. Twenty years later things still hadn't changed. At the age Cloud was fighting, his son was causing mayhem!

"Some days, you're really helpful, and others, we have to fix your mother's bar!"

Cloud leaned against his son's dresser, watching as his son didn't make eye contact with anything remotely near where he was standing. How do you punish your grown up son for destroying his mother's bar? _'I wonder if other parents have this problem...'_ He thought as he sighed.

Zack looked up at his father. He knew he was in trouble, but his dad was making a big deal of it, really. It wasn't like he lit the whole house ablaze, cackling like a mad man- he had standards!

"Dad, it's okay, really! I'll pay for the damages, alright?" He blinked at seeing his father's very angry expression. What did he say? He offered to pay for it, even though his paycheck came from his dad, but if he held onto it long enough, he could forget that little detail.

"Zack, there are consequences. You should realize this by now!" Where did Cloud go wrong? He thought he and Tifa had raised him to be a good man, not a delinquent! Okay, that may have been an exaggeration, but still! His son should understand that he couldn't keep doing this.

Honestly, Zack was getting fed up with this. Standing up, he crossed his arms and glared back at his father. He said he was sorry, he said he paid, what more did he want him to do? He did all he could, he helped with his father's delivery service; he was a good son, what did his father want- for him to save the world?

"What more do you want me to do? Go have a life-altering journey and bond with a couple of misfits?" Why couldn't his dad realize he didn't want to grow up? Growing up fully meant a job, a wife, and, Lifestrean forbid, kids. He wanted to enjoy his youth. So what if at his age dear old Dad was out saving the world- Zack wasn't a world-saver, he was a young adult who wanted to have fun!

"You know, that just might help you to grow up and stop being, so..." Cloud was trying his best to suppress his anger. If this was Zack's first offense, he would be much more lenient of him -as it was, he lost count how many times Zack had instigated a catastrophe. "So damn irresponsible and stupid!"

Zack could have sworn there was smoke coming out from his ears. Fuming, he glared at his father, who was slightly shorter than him, but his father was a scary little man when he wanted to be.

"Stupid huh? Well I'm sorry there's no world crisis for me to magically fix through friendship and trust!" he mocked. Yes, he knew his parents were freaking legends, but no one said that was easy to live up to.

"Why the hell couldn't you be more like Zack?"

The words weren't yelled, but they may as well have been. He had often heard stories about how amazing Zack Fair was, how he was named after a legend, and they knew he would do great things like his predecessor; didn't they realize it was hard to handle that kind of pressure?

The two glared at each other, ignoring the knock on the door. Opening it slightly, Tifa watched with worry clear in her eyes as she observed her husband and son's glaring match. Stepping in before she could say something, Zack's voice filled the deathly silence, his voice low as he masked his hurt.

"Why couldn't I be Zack? Maybe because I'm not him, I'm not a hero dad, deal with it." He turned and stormed out of the room, ignoring his sibling's concerned gaze; no doubt they had overheard the conversation -what did his dad want of him? He was expecting too much from him. Walking down the stairs, he stormed out of his house before he could say something he would regret to someone he loved.

|X|X|X|

"Alright, I want this explained again, because I obviously heard wrong," Yuffie Valentine (nee Kiasragi), demanded of her daughter who sat on a guest bed with her knees brought up to her chest, shrugging as she told her mother the same thing she had for the third time.

"As I said, Mom, Zack and Denus decided while me and Misaine were relaxing, it'd be fun to dump ice cold water on us..." She glanced down at her soaking wet clothing which was now multicolored, remembering what all was in that water, "and the water I think had, lemonade, hot sauce, and I'm pretty sure Gatorade..." She looked up at her mother, who was pinching the bridge of her nose, mumbling some kind of Wutain prayer.

"But trust me mom, I didn't start it!" She wanted that clear, her mom could think up _very_ creative punishments, "I just finished it!" She heard a muffled chuckle coming from the corner of the room. Looking at her father, she grinned at him, glad she made her daddy laugh.

"Yeah, sweetie, that doesn't really reassure me," Yuffie told her. At hearing her husband's laughter, she turned to glare at him, adding, "You so aren't helping."

He shrugged before walking over to her. Shortly after she had the girl's, he had abandoned the claw, and slowly the rest of his almost ridicules outfit. He kept the cape and used it more on missions than everyday life. He still wore black, but he looked more normal, like how Cloud had gone for normal clothing nowadays.

Looking at his daughter, she gave him a sheepish grin, hoping he wasn't disappointed. She could barely stand it when her mom got disapproving, but she would die if her father was mildly upset –okay, she was exaggerating, but still!

"You know you're going to help clean up the bar, right?" Vincent asked, arching a eyebrow at his daughter. She nodded quickly. She would willingly help the clean up the bar, though she had a good excuse for attacking him. She was just fighting back like her parents taught her. Maybe she took it too literally, though.

"But first," Yuffie grabbed her daughter's arms and lifted her up, "you need a shower, and a change of clothes." She turned her daughter towards the bathroom connected to the room .Looking her daughter over, she tilted her head at actually seeing hot sauce on her clothing.

"Right, and I'm sorry but-" Vincent held up a hand to stop his daughter from going off on a rant. He knew she was sorry, and besides, the Strife's household had gone through worse -much worse.

"We understand, Lilaye. At least you didn't do what Shelke did."

As Lilaye gathered a spare outfit, she heard her mother laugh, probably at the memory. "You know, you never actually told me what happened." She was curious as they often referenced that day, but had never actually told her what Shelke had done.

"Because we didn't want you to get the same idea," Yuffie told her, ushering her into the bathroom so she could get all of that gunk off her. Leaning towards her daughter, she whispered as Vincent left to go see their other children, "But for the record, she blew up the refrigerator."

She grinned and closed the door on her shocked daughter, who tried to process the responsible and calm Shelke blowing up a refrigerator.

|X|X|X|

The two hero's stared at their other children, both sitting in chairs in the hallway. Valonica had one knee propped up, while Grimoire had his head bowed. Staring at the two for a couple of seconds, Yuffie crossed her arms.

"Well? Anything you two want to say?"

*Grimoire looked up and opened his mouth to try and defend himself, but as he thought about it, his mouth snapped shut and he sighed. "Yeah, not really..."

"In our defense," Valonica spoke up, looking at her two parents, "we were only trying to stop her." Which was the truth. She tried to stop her crazy sister - tried valiantly, failed horrifically though.

Tapping her foot, Yuffie was truly curious as to what caused all of them to fight in some kind of bar room brawl. She raised them to be much better fighters!

"And what of the brawl?" She asked, giving the two a level glare. Grimoire shrugged as he told his mother the honest truth.

"I don't know...It was all a blur..."

|X|X|X|

"Denus, you have to stop letting Zack influence you!" Shera demanded of him, staring down her two sons chidingly, her focus on the oldest. She knew the two were best friends, and Denus was a good, responsible kid, but add Zack to the mix, and hell opens up.

Denus nodded. He knew he shouldn't have allowed it; he would just have to work on being against Zack's hair-brained ideas.

"I know, mom..." Zack was going to be the death of him, he knew it! If his parents didn't kill him, Misaine would do it gladly. Standing up, he placed his hands on his mother's shoulders and apologized, "I'm sorry mom, really, I am."

Cid looked up from his seat, knowing his son was a good kid, a damn good fighter, he loved his family, and didn't mean to find trouble –trouble just liked him. "Ya' know what ya damn well gotta do, right?" Cid asked, waiting for his son's apologies.

Nodding, he looked at his father. He was sorry and he would try (try was the keyword) to stay out of trouble, for he didn't like making his parents distressed. He would just have to attempt get Zack to grow up. "Yeah, I'll pay for the damages-"

"Apologize to Misaine," his mother interrupted. She was a nice girl, whom she hoped her son would settle down with, despite her being a Turk. She was dedicated, loyal, a bit serious, yet she was also very nice if one worked on being her friend.

He gave his mom a quick smile, as he said with a bit of amusement, "I think that was implied."

Laughing, Cid stood up and patted his son on the shoulder, a grin on his face. "That's my boy! Now go damn well apologize!"

Grinning back at his father, Denus nodded and left the room, laughing as he heard the tail end of his parent's lecturing his little brother.

"Why in lifestream's name do you decide to join in?"

"...I felt left out..."

|X|X|X|

Lilaye rubbed the towel over her damp hair, glad it was summer and she didn't have to really dry it; after a nice, refreshing shower, she dressed in her spare outfit and was ready to help repair all the damages that resulted from the spat at the bar. She looked out her window, studying the sight of the great city. After twenty years, Edge expanded into a bustling city, buzzing with life and people, a brilliant metropolis. At least, that's what she heard her parents call it.

She sighed, missing Nibelheim. She loved that town more than anywhere else, for it was so rustic and quaint. Though the city was a nice break, she preferred her home.

Watching the people on the busy street, she did a double take at seeing Zack walking and dodging people. Wondering why he was outside, she opened the window and jumped down; landing in a crouch, she got up and hurried to follow a speed-walking Zack Strife.

"Hey!" She called, ducking and dodging various civilians as she saw him head to the center where the monument of AVALANCE standing proud, including the late Aerith and Zack was. Catching up to him, she approached more slowly as he stared, transfixed at the statue.

"Hey..." Lilaye greeted in a slightly calmer voice, wondering what was wrong. He seemed lost in thought.

She gasped in shock and horror as he slammed his fist into the monument with raw power, his visage dark and hazy. "Are you crazy?!" Lilaye shrieked, not even startling him with her outburst. She grabbed his fist, staring in worry at the blood all over his hand. Dragging him to a nearby bench, she opened her vest up and grabbed a cloth she kept in a pocket. Scowling at him, she wiped up the blood gently.

"Seriously, are you crazy, Zack? What were you thinking?" She stared at his face, prepared to scold him more, but his eyes were unfocused and she wondered if he really even felt the pain; he didn't cry or scream, what was wrong?

Wrapping the clothgingerly around his hand, she brought it up to her lips and kissed it. That succeeded in catching his attention as he turned to stare at her, blinking in confusion as to when she got here and what she was doing.

"Mom often kisses my boo-boos," she explained, releasing his hand. Despite himself, he smiled at her words. She was eighteen but still used simpler words. "I figured it might make you feel better - you okay?" She was staring at him in concern. Something happened, obviously for him to go punching statues like a madman.

He turned his head away and stared at the statue, which had a bit of his blood on it. Looking at his hand, he didn't feel anything, he felt so numb. "Ye- No, I just feel so..." Zack leaned his head back, closing his eyes against the bright sun, allowing her to rest her head on his shoulder.

"Constipated?" she offered, grinning as he let out an abrupt laugh, looking at her with his own grin as she bumped him with her shoulder.

"Come on, Zacky," she encouraged with a happy smile on her bright features. He couldn't help but gaze at her. No matter how much time she spent in the sun, she still looked pale. "Talk to me!"

Laughing at her childish tone, Zack bumped her with his shoulder and smirked, "Really? What, are ya gonna beg?"

Scowling at him, she shook her head and crossed her arms. "I don't beg - you should realize this by now!" Her mother was Gaia's greatest ninja, and her dad, a total bad-ass. She _so_ didn't beg, it just wasn't in her blood.

Rolling his eyes at her, he nodded, saying in a mocking voice, "Ahh, yes, of course. How could I forget?"

She tried to glare at him, but her face morphed into a bright smile. Placing a hand on his injured one, she noticed him wince. "So it does hurt," she mused to herself. Keeping a hand there, she turned her big red eyes on him and her mouth formed a pout as she stared at him. This always worked on her father, Denus, mom– actually, come to think of it, no one could resist her sad doe eyes.

Zack groaned in annoyance as she turned the sad eyes on him. She knew she had power with those, she could get anyone to do anything.

"Zack, tell me what's wrong, pleeaassee!" she beseeched. When she jutted her lower lip out more, he sighed and realized there was no getting out of this.

"My dad, he..."Zack began at length.

At seeing this was a serious subject, the sad eyes faded and she leaned her head on his shoulder, waiting patiently for him to talk.

"Lily, do you think I'm a hero?" He wanted to know how she saw him. His dad wanted him to be a hero, but he didn't know how. How does one even _become _a hero?

She blinked at the question. She saw him as her own personal hero, but saying that could make himfeel extremely awkward –awkwardness or making him feel better? The choices. Sighing, she kept her eyes straight on the monument as she confessed,"I think you're amazing. I think you're an unquestionable fighting force and a great guy." Lilaye turned to look at his stunned blue eyes. Giving him a smirk, she continued, "I think you are a hero. I think, when the time comes, you'll prove it to your dad." She wrapped her arms around his neck and brought his head to her shoulder as she comforted him. She didn't feel the need to prove she was as good as or better than her parents. She felt happy she had two amazing parents.

She knew though, it was harder for Zack. He was named after an amazing guy who was his father's best friend, and the more he acted out, the more they thought something was wrong. She knew he had big shoes to fill – hell, even Clyan felt unsure of how he measured up. But Zack seemed to have the most pressure since he was the oldest. They expected great things from him.

"Thanks,Lily," Zack whispered, wrapping his arms around her waist. He wished he could figure out what his dad wanted. He was a great fighter, and sometimes surpassed his father, but he didn't want to be serious all the time; he wanted to have fun, was that so wrong? He would grow up when he was older. As for now, he wanted to enjoy being young. He knew his parent's youth was taken in a blaze of world disasters, but he didn't want that, was that so wrong too?


	3. Attack On The Bar

Okay, I know I disappeared over the weekend, I am sorry. It was one heck of a weekend, and not in a good way. Though I spent a nice bit of time replaying FF7, remembering the game that jumpstarted this. To anyone who might think this was kind of slow-I know I part way did-It speeds up to insane measures, enjoy!

* * *

"Tifa, what are we going to do about him?"

Tifa sighed tiredly. Her husband was trying his hardest to wear a whole in the floor with all his pacing. The two were in the living room area relaxing, or to be more specific, she was relaxing and knitting, and Cloud was driving himself insane.

"What can we do? He's twenty-one." Really, she knew her son was acting out more lately; he worked at the delivery service, but pulled pranks like a teenager. She just wished Cloud could understand that maybe they should let Zack figure this out on his own. They raised him to the best of their abilities, he had to make his own mistakes if he was ever going to learn a lesson.

"Exactly!" he exclaimed before going off on a rant about how he was too old to be pulling pranks like this, to which Tifa sighed tiredly, planning on ignoring, but she just couldn't.

Setting down her knitting needles and cloth in her lap, she glared at him and stated, "You know you're not helping him by asking why he can't be more like Zack, saying he's stupid..."

"I didn't mean he was stupid," Cloud objected quickly, defending his choice of words as he continued, "I meant his actions were stupid!" That probably didn't justify it, but really, he was twenty-one years old – why was he so against growing up? At this point, sixteen year old Yuffie was probably more mature than him.

Rolling her eyes, Tifa resumed her knitting, but still tried to get Cloud to understand as she protested, "That doesn't make it better, Cloud. You have to understand, he's grown up differently than how we did." He did, they had grown up fast and quick, even Yuffie; they had no childhood, but their children were lucky to be raised in times of peace. Sighing, Cloud collapsed on the chair opposite of her. He knew his son had experienced a youth far unlike than his own, for his son didn't have to grow up hastily, and that was okay. What wasn't okay, however, was refusing to mature.

"I know Teef," Cloud relented, his anger dissipating as he tried to remember the fact that his son didn't lose his innocene so young, and his son loved his childhood. _'A little too much...'_he thought, although he was just worried about what would happen if he died before his time, would his son know what to do to move on?

"We won't be here forever Tifa," Cloud stated rather morbidly, but with good cause. He knew he wasn't exactly in the right, though not in the wrong either. Somewhere in the middle of the two extremes, probably, but his thoughts were in the right place.

"We're not going anywhere for a long while," she told him, concentrated more on her knitting. She didn't know if it was a curse or a blessing that with all the Lifestream and Mako, they would live longer than they should – bright side, they didn't look forty.

Cloud opened his mouth, about to comment more, when he caught sight of his adopted son standing with his wife of nine years. Looking over at them, he smiled and greeted, "Hey Denzel, Marlene." Tifa glanced up and smiled gently at the two children, giving them a nod in acknowledgement before resuming knitting.

Cloud watched them fondly as they walked to the couch and began a conversation with Tifa, their hands clasped tightly together. He could still remember the mild heart attack he felt when they told him they decided to date. He had not seen it coming, and he still remembered the shock he felt not at Tifa saying she saw it coming, or from Yuffie who had foreseen as much, too –no, the shock came from Vincent, who said _he_ saw it coming.

"Everything okay, Dad?"

Cloud focused back on the present to see his son staring at him, slightly concerned, with Marlene looking at him also. How zoned out was he? Before he could give them a simple 'Fine', Tifa answered for him, "Your father's fine, he's just debating ways to kill your brother." The three looked at Tifa, Cloud with disbelief, while Denzel and Marlene wondered if she was serious.

Glancing up at them, she gave them an innocent smile as she turned the conversation around, "Anyways, how are the kids?" She couldn't believe she was a grandmother. Maybe they weren't related to her by blood, but that didn't mean she loved them any less.

"Asleep." The four turned their heads to look at the doorway where a grown-up Shelke Rui stood, her arms crossed as she leaned on the doorway. She now looked like how she should have all those years ago, but like Vincent, they had practically forgotten her real age and considered her a grown up, thirty-two year old woman.

"And they are _staying_ that way," she stressed to her husband, who came up behind her.

He ran his hand through his shaggy black hair, giving her an apologetic smile before appeasing, "Right, Shel, right. They'll stay asleep!"Jakim may have been an outsider to AVALANCHE, but the boy fit right in as he actively trained with a bo-staff and begged Yuffie to train him when he only was twelve. While it had taken a while to gain Vincent's approval, he didn't give up, and he fought for Shelke, which was all Vincent truly wanted to know out of him.

Getting up, Cloud walked over to the mildly argueing Shelke and Jakim and patted their shoulders, interrupting the two he as hewalked into the bar kids hadn't yet gotten to cleaning up the spilled liquor, figures. The temperature in the room dropped as the hairs on Cloud's neck stood on end, and when he (turned) to look at the door, a feeling of dread enveloped him. Approaching it slowly, the only warning he received was a small, faint ticking sound, before the door exploded off its hinges with a deafening _boom! _Knocking Cloud back into the counter with the heavy wooden door resting on top of him, a cloud of smoke rose within the doorway.

"Cloud!"

Cloud looked to see Tifa rushing over and removing the door. Helping her, he stood up and leaned on the counter while the four other adults rushed in. "Denzel, get me my sword!" he commanded as the dust cleared to reveal something that used to haunt his dreams.

|X|X|X|

"You cannot tell me you lost your sister!" Yuffie yelled, with Vincent beside her giving their children a disapproving look.

Grimoire scratched the back of his head while Valonica refused to look her mother in the eye. They didn't lose her, per say, _misplaced_ was a better word.

"I wouldn't say, lost..." Grimoire protested, cringing at his mother's disapproving look. Okay, so maybe they _had _lost their sister, but was it really that bad? "It's more like… a misplacement!" Valonica cuffed her brother on the shoulder, annoyance clear in her silver eyes.

Vincent sighed at the antics of his children. His oldest daughter (by five minutes) was probably running around Edge, Leviathan knew where. He could only hope she ran off to find or saw Zack and was safe. When a sudden explosion rocked the house, he spun around with wide eyes, along with Yuffie.

"Vincent! Yuffie! Get down here and get the others!"

At hearing Cloud's voice, Vincent rushed down the stairs, with his ninja not far behind. Yuffie turned and gaped at what she saw, and before her children could follow, she turned around and grabbed her daughter's shoulders, ordering,"Run! Get everyone out of here and run!"

"But mom-" Valonica tried to see past her mother, ignoring how the older adults rushed past, for she wanted to know what was going on. Why did she have to run and not fight? Her mother trained her since she was five, why wasn't she even allowed to see what was going on?

Placing a kiss on her daughter's forehead, the seriousness in her eyes impeded her decision to rush past her mother.

"I love you. Protect your brother and those you love." As her mother pulled away, Valonica wanted to protest, she wanted to run past and help her parents, but the dead seriousness in her mother's eyes made her rethink her actions. Her mother was trusting her to get everyone out safe and sound, she had to do it, for her mother at least.

"Yes mom..."she conceded, bowing her head. She didn't like this, didn't want to leave her mother, and hearing the sounds of some kind of battle downstairs wasn't making this any easier. Smiling, Yuffie reached over and grabbed her shuriken which was hung up on the wall. And with her trusted weapon, she was fully ready to kick some ass.

"Yuffie!"

At hearing her voice being called, Yuffie smiled at her daughter before jumping on the railing and sliding down. Valonica watched her mother go and resisted the urge to follow.

"Mom!" Shit, she had forgotten her brother! Turning, she caught Grimoire by the elbow as he tried to get past her, struggling with all his might. She knew what he was feeling, she understood."Let go, Val!" he yelled at his older sister. What was she doing? "Mom and Dad needs-"

"Us to get to safety!" she interrupted, staring her brother in the eye. Hearing another small explosion from below, they both cringed. "Mom said to protect you, let me protect," she whispered, turning her brother around and pushing him forwards. The two ran to find Denus and Misaine, with Kalane, the three appearing frazzled.

"What's going on? Dad and Mom just ran off," Denus asked. He had heard the explosion, and all parents had flown out like bats out of hell. The dead serious look in Valonica's eyes worried him.

"I don't know, but we need to get the kids out of here." She would do what her mother asked, and she'd do it to the best of her ability.

Nodding, Denus grabbed Grimoire and instructed, "Me, Grimoire, and Kalane will get the other teenagers, you two get the kids." Denus pointed to Valonica and Misaine to emphasize his point, and at hearing another explosion, they cringed and ran off, the girls going left and the boys going right.

|X|X|X|

Running down the hallway, the two girls stopped at the children's bedroom. Misaine jiggled the door handle to find it locked. Groaning, Valonica pushed her back and reared her right leg up, putting all her strength into kicking the door off its hinges. Startling all the occupants of the room, Elmyra looked up from her position at the far corner of the room, and four children in front of her tried to look over the older woman's shoulder. Sighing in relief at seeing the two women, the elderly woman stood up with a five year old in her arms.

The two women came over; the sounds of fighting directly below them. Misaine grabbed the oldest child, while an eight year old attached himself to Valonica's leg.

"Aunt Vali!" he exclaimed, happy to see his calm, collective aunt. Picking him up, Valonica secured him to her hip, keeping a hand on him while his arms wrapped around her neck.

"We have to go," Misaine instructed as Elmyra grabbed another eight year old. They couldn't stay and talk, for they were in too much of a hurry. Hearing the sound of footsteps, the three women turned to look at the doorway, expecting the hero's instead a group of fifteen or so– from what they could tell – soldiers that appeared in the doorway. Each one was in full red body suits with silver helmets, and goggles protruding from the eye holes.

"Val, can you create a distraction?" Misaine asked in a whisper, pulling out her gun. For some reason they were waiting, and it didn't set well with her. Nodding Valonica attempted to dislodge her nephew.

"Mykale, you need to go with Elmyra and Misa."She didn't want to have to worry about her nephew while fighting, and besides, what if he saw bloodshed? That could scar any child, no matter who he was.

"No!" he protested, for he didn't want to leave his aunt. She was protection and he wouldn't leave! Her eyes widened as she glared at him.

"Myki!" she scolded. She didn't have time for this, she needed to let them get away, but she couldn't do it with an eight year old attached to her side!

"Look out!"

Looking up at seeing one of the soldiers lunge at her, she reached inside her coat for her shuriken, only for a gunshot to ring out several times. The body fell lifeless as blood stained the once pristine hardwood floors.

"Run, now!" Misa cried out to Valonica her, firing again. Grabbing her shuriken out of her coat, she charged at them, slicing through their bodies and running, for the door way to the roof.

"Keep your eyes closed," she instructed to the child who screwed his eyes shut, ignoring the sounds of running footsteps and the dizzying speed his aunt was keeping, while taking the stairs two at a time. The soldiers were right on them. Flinging the door open and running out into the blinding sun, Valonica skidded to a halt at the edge, a three story drop. Turning around to see at least ten soldiers standing there with simple basic swords, she growled in annoyance and flung her shuriken at them, decapitating them easily. She cut her gaze away, partly in disgust. Bloodshed never sat right with her.

As easily as the first wave was defeated, another took their place, seemingly undeterred. Looking behind her, she knew what she was going to have to do.

"Don't let go," she whispered soothingly to her nephew, and he tightened his grip. As she jumped backwards, the child screamed at the speed his aunt was falling. Bringing her knees up to her chest, she landed with a grunt on her feet, a thud sounding out in the silence. Looking up at the group of soldiers who were looming over the top, she scowled at them, hoping they wouldn't jump to follow they were, she would take vengeance on them.

|X|X|X|

Running down the hallway, Denus, Grimoire and Kalane ran into the two youngest Strifes.

"Denus!" they cried as he grabbed their arms.

"We have to go. Where's Tran and R.J.?" he asked, wondering where his younger brother and best friend were. Hearing coughing at the end of the hallway, the two moved and stood in front of a window.

"Here we are!" R.J. said, waving with a bit of concern in his eyes, "But we can't find Lilaye or Zack."

The two boys took a couple of steps forward, and suddenly the window blew inwards, knocking the two boys flat as glass flew around them. A couple of soldiers started climbing through, taking advantage of the entry they'd created. Growling, Denus ran up to them and stabbed one of them through the chest while slamming the butt end of his spear into the other. Dislodging the one body from his spear, and shaking his head at the blood dripping down, he looked out and discovered more attempting to scale the building.

"Damn it, run!" he yelled at them. The two youngest Strifes and Kalane dragged the two stunned teenagers up, the five running with Denus following behind. The three ended up in one of the rooms. Geniji looked at the window, glancing down at the drop, which wasn't too bad.

"Denus!" Denus, who was busy barricading the door with a dresser with Grimoire and Clyan, turned to look at Geniji who was opening the window. "We can get out this way!" The excitement in her voice made him smile, as R.J. and Trainor helped her secure the window.

"That's gre-Ahh!" Grimoire exclaimed as a sword came through the dresser and almost stabbed him. Clyan and he ran to the window.

"Who goes first?" Geniji asked, missing Trainor's evil smirk.

He grabbed her and tossed her out, yelling, "Ladies' first!"

Geniji laughed as she cried out that she hated him, and Denus groaned at their childish antics, pushing Trainor out and receiving a string of curses. R.J followed shortly after, hugging his robotic dog close to his chest.

Clyan grabbed Kalane and jumped out, and Grimoire looked back to see Denus keeping the dresser there."Denus, we have to go!" Bad enough they were leaving their parents, the last thing he wanted was to lose more people he loved. Nodding, Denus kicked the dresser through the door, smiling in grim satisfaction as it crushed the soldiers, and then running over to Grimoire who leapt out of the window. He followed suit, landing and looking at them as Geniji rubbed her arms, and Tranior glared at him.

"Head for the back door," Denus ordered them, knowing there was a good chance the others were there. The seven ran for the back door, and he wished he knew what was going on, but the sounds of fighting were clear even from outside the building. He hoped his parents were okay. They had to be, they were freaking legends, overcoming odds thought to be impossible, they were okay!

|X|X|X|

Misaine and Elmyra ran the opposite way with the children, glad Valonica had been able to easily distract the soldiers. They seemed so stupid, like they didn't think for themselves.

"Hey!"

Stopping abruptly, Misaine turned to see Ralu and Ryfi standing in a doorway. Waving excitedly, Ralu beckoned the small group over. Running to them, she frowned at Ralu's grin –didn't she realize this was a serious situation?

"Guess what we found?"Ralu asked excitedly. How the hell she was so happy was a mystery to Misaine sighing at Ralu as she excitedly pointed to a wall. Walking over, Ryfi kicked the wall to reveal a staircase. Looking at Misaine with a proud smirk, Ralu jerked her head to the staircase, and boasted, "Hidden staircase, who knew right?"

Before Misaine could give them faint praise and get the children out of this place, Ralu's eyes widened as she jumped over Misaine who ducked once she realized her intentions. Ralu landed on one of the soldiers faces, hitting another in the face with her electric baton. Ryfi ran beside her and punched one in the face, before kicking it.

"Elmyra, take the kids and get to safety," Misaine told her, watching as the youngest Turks' trainees battled, fighting with fist and weapon. Setting the ten year old down, she shooed him to the oldest woman. Looking a bit unsure, he followed Elmyra to the stair case, taking the hand of the eight year old girl as Elmyra sat her down and got them in front of her.

As the two oldest children hurried down, she glanced back at the three girls. One was shooting at them and the others were engaging them head on. Shaking her head, Elmyra knew the training those three had probably endured. She hurried down the staircase, still holding the youngest.

"Somethin' tells me they aren't giving up!" Ralu shouted to her friends as she ducked a sword and lunged her baton in one of their stomachs, smiling grimly as it shocked him and he fell down lifeless.

Nodding, Misaine shot one who had his sword aimed for Ryfi, and she ran over and closed the staircase, for she didn't want them finding Elmyra and the kids. "Window, now!" she instructed, shooting a couple more. Walking backwards to the window, the two nodded and followed her lead, soon the three were cornered at the window, with the soldiers flooding the room.

Turing around, Misaine kicked the window, shattering it as glass fell down. She turned back and shot another one who was moving closer.

"Get through." She knew it wasn't the safest way, but they didn't have time to open the damn thing. Groaning, Ralu carefully crawled and went down head first, maneuvering to land on her feet, with Ryfi following shortly after. Misaine shot a couple more soldiers as they closed in, and crawling through, she bit her lip to suppress a cry of pain as one of their swords sliced at her shoulder.

"Misa!" The two one the ground cried at seeing their friend and practically their sister get injured. Falling down, the two caught her and helped support her.

"Are you okay?" Ryfi asked as Ralu looked at the wound, which thankfully looked like just a flesh wound, though there was blood pouring from it.

"I-I'm fine, where's the others?" She blinked and suppressed a groan of pain. She was being supported by the two younger girls and Ralu removed her jacket and pressed it on the wound to starch the blood flow.

"We don't know whe-"

Ralu's voice cut off as they heard the sound of running footsteps, and from around the corner came Denus, Tranoir, Grimoire, Clyan, Kalane, Geniji, and R.J. The seven skidded to a halt at seeing the three Turks in training.

Denus's relief was short lived as he saw Misaine's injury. "Misa!" he cried in surprise as he rushed towards her. The two girls released her and Denus held her up, turning her around and removing the jacket that stopped the blood. His eyes narrowed as Misaine tried to reassure him.

"It's nothing more than a flesh wound." She hissed in pain as he very gently ran his finger over the cut, anger clear in his eyes. "I'm fine, Den." She looked over her shoulder at him. Giving him a small smile reserved for only him, she turned around and handed Ralu her jacket. Ralu looked at it in disgust, even though with the red she couldn't distinguish the blood.

"We have more important matters to deal with," Misaine continued. Sighing, Denus knew she was right.

Staring her dead in the eye, he whispered low enough so no one could hear, "If you feel any pain at all, you need to tell me." He didn't want her saying she was fine when she wasn't, she had pride and knew she didn't like to be considered weak. She nodded reluctantly as he looked behind her for a sign of Valonica and the kids.

"Where's Val?" he questioned, wondering why it was only her, Ralu and Ryfi.

Looking away in shame, Misaine told him, "We had to separate, so the kids are with Elmyra and should be coming out of a staircase soon." She hated the fact they had separated, though Valonica was an excellent fighter, with all the enhancements from her father's side. Even so, she knew it was hard to fight with a child at her side.

Grimoire smiled as Valonrica came from the other corner, with Mykale on her side. She stopped at Misaine and Denus. Panting slightly, she looked at them as she mentally counted how many were here.

"Where's the rest of them?" Valonica asked, where was her other nephew and the two girls? Looking at Misaine, her eyes narrowed at seeing the cut just below her shoulder blade. So she had also run into trouble, great.

Groaning in annoyance, Ralu shook her head –what was with all these pointless questions? "We don't know, by golly!" She was getting frustrated at this. For all that's good, they were trying their best. "We sent Elmyra and the kids down a hidden staircase, they could-"

"There here!" Geniji exclaimed, interrupting Ralu's tirade. A piece of the wall opened to reveal two children. At seeing the older ones, they rushed to them. Geniji happily picked up the eight year old girl, while Grimoire allowed the ten year old to climb onto his back, giving him a piggy back ride. Elmyra stepped out with a tired smile, and at seeing this, Kalane approached her.

Looking at her a soft smile, he offered, "You can allow her to ride on me."

Sighing in relief, Elmyra sat the giddy five year old on the creatures back. The girl grabbed two fist fulls of fur and laid her head on him, resting after all of this excitement. Denus looked around and suppressed a sigh at not seeing Lilaye or Zack. Wherever they were, they had to be safe – if not, he wasn't sure what he'd do.

Before Denus could attempt to make a decision, they heard a door fling open and it hit the wall it was attached to. Looking up at the roof, they stared stunned at seeing hundreds of the soldiers pouring over from the roof, being held off by one blonde swordsman.

"Cloud!"


	4. Run Faster

My lovely beta-er, is having problems with her damned laptop and is incredibly. Since I'd feel heartless and a touch cruel to ask of her anything right now, I'd figure I'd post this now, and repost this chapter whenever Sirenmist has the time to do it. Enjoy!

* * *

The group stared up in shock at seeing Cloud holding them back with his sword, leaning over the edge dangerously, it was obviously he was straining to keep from falling off, soldiers were everywhere on the roof. Panic and fear sat in the children, where were the rest of them? Where they okay? And where the hell did those soldiers come from?

"Dad!" The two Strife's called, distress and fear clear in their eyes and voice.

Geniji felt her heart pounding at the sight of her father valiantly trying to fight a mini army, in their house of all places! Clyan wasn't doing much better, he was struggling to remember to breathe and not have a panic attack, their father was strong, he wouldn't lose, it wasn't possible!

Cloud glanced over his shoulder, seeing the children staring in shock, panic, and fear. He reared back with a mighty roar and swept at the soldiers with Buster Sword, slicing many clear in half, blood falling down the side of the building.

"Run!" Cloud shouted at them, slicing and cleaving at the soldiers, "find Zack and Lilaye and get out of Edge!" Even if something happened to him, the children would get to safety, no matter what.

"Dad..." The two Strife's whispered in anguish, their father was telling them to run, the mighty Cloud Strife was telling them to flee!

Groaning in annoyance at seeing the children frozen in fear, Cloud knew he couldn't get cut down in front of them, that would scare them and shake their resolve.

"Denus, get them out of here!" Cloud shouted, startling the oldest, "you're in charge until you find Zack, get out of Edge!" He couldn't keep this up much longer, the more he killed, the more came, they were like inhuman SOLDIERs.

Denus looked away, hating this, but knowing someone had to take charge. Getting to where he was in front of the younger ones, with Misaine following him, he noticed the youngest ones were looking. "Keep your eyes closed!" He instructed to them, startling everyone, but the children listened, blocking out the noise around them, shutting their eyes tight.

Denus kept his expression stern, even though this was killing him on the inside, he loved Cloud like a uncle and this wasn't easy. "We need to go," Denus told them, he wasn't fazed by the almost murderous looks the Strife's gave him, both opened their mouths to protest but he pushed them back.

"We don't have time for this!" Denus told them, anger in his voice; they did not have time to argue. Misaine forcefully turned them around, glad Geniji had a good grip on the girl in her arms, "Denus is right, we have to run!" Misaine enforced, she didn't want to run, Lifestream knew she didn't, but they had to live to fight another day.

Reluctantly the group turned towards the alleyway, all except Elmyra who stayed behind. Her eyes focused on the backdoor. Noticing they were missing someone, they turned to look at the elderly woman, "grandma, what are you doing?" Geniji asked, keeping the child with her closer to her, a bit of dread filling her.

The minute she turned to look at them, Denus and Misaine had a gut feeling of what she was going to do and bowed their heads. It was her choice.

Unfortunately, the others didn't have a clue, "c'mon, grandma, we_ have_ to go!" Clyan stressed the look in the old woman's eyes worrying him greatly.

As everyone tried to convince the elder to move, she grabbed a broom Tifa had left outside; she gave the children a loving smile and prayed to her adopted daughter to get them out safely.

"Go," Elmyra whispered, "I'll only slow you down."

Before they could protest, the elder opened the door and with a war cry went in and closed it behind her. The group stared stunned at the sacrifice the woman had made.

Geniji let out a small cry and about ran forward, when Trainor grabbed her and turned her around, fighting back a couple of tears, "move it woman!" He shouted, his voice not nearly as gruff as normal, "we got to get the children out of here!"

Geniji looked down at Evalon, who was clinging to her dress, nodding Geniji knew they had to get them out of here. Clyan however was staring in shock, it took, Ryfi, Grimoire and Kalane to get him to move and follow, though he couldn't wrap his mind around it.

Denus fought against his own emotions as he ran down the alleyway, the others behind him. How was he supposed to get them out of Edge? This was the first time he had ever truly felt fear, fear for what was happening, fear for his parents.

He startled slightly as Misaine slipped her hand in his, a silent gesture of comfort, even though she didn't even glance at him. Feeling a little braver, he squeezed her hand in acknowledgement.

The group continued running down the alleyway, running down the twist and turns until they reached town square. The sight that greeted them was not expected, blood was staining everything, and people were running with those soldiers crawling everywhere.

Undistinguishable bodies littered the once bright and sunny area, though the sun shone on the town, the atmosphere was one of fear and terror.

A soldier dropped down in front of the group, the ones without children got into a fighting stance, when a shot rang out. The soldier fell down lifeless, blood pouring from the six precise bullet holes through his chest. Looking up from the body, they saw a cheerful face, holding her gun she grinned at them.

"Hey, guys!" Lilaye greeted smiling brightly despite the horror behind her, the group smiled at her briefly before their eyes widened as a soldier came up behind her.

"Lilaye!" Valonica and Grimoire warned in unison.

Lilaye turned around and before she could shoot it, a sword cut through him, staining the area with more blood. The man who was wielding the sword looked up at them with a grim grin; the group breathed a sigh of relief at seeing that both Zack and Lilaye were safe.

"Zack!" Denus cried, going over to great his friend, Zack grinned at his friend.

"Great to see you too, Denus," Zack said as he pushed his friend to the side, looking over at his little brother with a smirk, one over coming Clyan's face as well.

"Stand back, friend," Zack advised Denus as he lowered his large, flat sword to the ground. Clyan's smirk grew as he ran forwards, once he had stepped on the blade, Zack flipped his brother upwards.

The teenager flew through the air, pulling out his two short swords, he landing in between two soldiers and stabbed them, before going after others.

Zack and Denus stood back to back, fighting some of the strange soldiers; the others were fighting and protecting the children. "Where's our parents?" Zack questioned, parrying against one of the soldiers.

Denus's shoulders sagged slightly; knowing not wasn't a good time to tell him, not during a fight. "I'll tell you when we get outta here, leader." Denus said over the sound of the battle, with a touch of amusement, remembering what Cloud had told him.

Zack nodded then froze once the meaning of his words got to him, also taking a boot to his stomach as he got distracted.

The soldier was shot quickly by Misaine who ran off to help Clyan, "leader?" He choked out stunned, he was not a leader, he had the worst judgment! They had proven this time and time again, what was Denus talking about?

Denus felt a smirk at Zack's confusion, stabbing one through the middle then hitting one on the head with the butt of his spear, he elaborated. "Yeah, leader! Cloud said you're the leader and to get us out of Edge!"

If Zack wasn't busy fighting, he would have turned to look it his friend, "was dad drunk?" Zack wondered more to his self, confused; didn't his dad call him stupid? Why would he trust him with getting out of Edge? "We know I am not-"

"Zack!"

He looked over to see Lilaye, Ralu, Ryfi, and R.J. guarding the others who were holding the kids, unable to do much with the children. "Zack, tell me you got a plan!" Lilaye shouted at him, the more they fought the more came, what the hell were these things?

Zack glanced around, spotting a semi open path to an alleyway, sending a quick prayer to the Lifestream he easily dispatched a couple of soldiers, shouting instructions to Misaine and Clyan. "Missy, Clyan! Help me clear the path to there," the young warrior pointed to the alleyway.

The two looked where there impromptu leader was pointing and nodded, quickly getting a way clear. While Zack and Denus fought their way to the others, "When I shout go, everybody run!" Zack instructed, as him and Denus helped fight the soldiers away from the others with children.

Zack looked over to his right, seeing Misaine and Clyan have a slightly clear path, he sighed. _'Please let us get through this,'_ Zack prayed, he looked at Denus for confirmation if he was ready.

At Denus's nod, Zack knew they'd be running for a long, long time! "Alright! Everybody go!" Zack commanded, and like that, everyone ran off, straight for the clear alleyway.

Shooting and slicing at any soldier in there way, the group ran through the ally. Hearts pounding in their ears; soldiers on the sides and roofs of the tall buildings, looming over the startled teenagers and young adults.

They didn't know how long they ran, shooting and slicing their way out of Edge, all they knew was they finally escaped the city. Running through the grassy and rocky plains, no one dared to look behind them, afraid of what might be following them.

Soon the group of young adults and teenagers reached a grassy hill, about three miles out of town, a stream running through it, a couple of tree's dotting the landscape. If they weren't worried for their lives, the area would have looked beautiful and peaceful.

As it was, the group collapsed on their knees and hand's, panting heavily. Zack glanced a look over his shoulder at Edge. There were soft exploding sounds coming from the direction of his city, despite the bright summer sun the city looked cast in darkness.

"Did-Did we lose them?" Geniji asked looking behind her as she sat down her niece, praying that they wouldn't have to keep running. She cringed at her home, able to see bits of buildings falling off.

The group shared a collective look, worried and fear clear in each their eyes. Their home was gone, Edge the base of AVALANCE operation was destroyed, their parents were either captured or worse and they had no clue what happened.

"Damn it!" Zack cursed, slamming his fist into the ground. His eyes narrowed and his chest heaving, this whole situation was messed up; within the span of an hour they had lost everything.

|X|X|X|

In the center of Edge a man walked out of the shadows, his black boots crunching on the broken shards of glass, until he stepped on a stuffed Moogle. He stepped back and stared coolly at it, before he pulled out his katana and stabbed it.

He looked at the city with satisfaction; it didn't take much to take down Edge. The element of surprise was on his side, he looked at the monument of AVALANCE, only to shake his head.

He expected a better fight from the 'World Hero's', well; it just made things easy in the long run anyways. He looked at the almost dried blood on the monument curiously, pulling a white handkerchief out of his red coat's pocket. Wiping it away, he saw barely there hints of blue in it. A twisted smirk appeared on his face, MAKO, some idiot got MAKO enhanced blood on the monument.

Pocketing the handkerchief his split colored black and platinum hair swirling in the wind. He turned around, appeased by the damage of the city. People were either dead, captured, or hiding. His army was still scourging the city and the might heroes were in his grasp.

The man pulled out his cell phone at hearing a ring, "Hello sir." He greeted over the line, listing to his boss asking questions on the mission.

"Everything is in order..." He looked at the high noon sun, glad how quickly they had managed to take down the world's largest city.

"The children? They are of no consequence...Soon, sir, very soon our plan will be realized..."

|X|X|X|

Later that night found the group sitting around a campfire, having moved farther away from Edge. Trainor absently picking at the flames with a stick, the group stared uneasily at the fire, sleep unable to come to them.

Except for the little children, who had gone to sleep with reassurance that they would figure it out in the morning.

A morose silence took over, each in their own thoughts, yet all thinking the same thing. What were those things? Were their parents okay? How did they get caught unaware? Why did this have to happen?

Within the span of an hour, the city of Edge was lost, taken and overrun by forces unknown. Within an hour they lost the biggest stronghold and what about the rest of the cities? What was happening to them?

Zack's eyes narrowed as he thought about what could have been, what if he hadn't run? What if he stayed? Would they have still lost? Would it make a difference? Why did this have to happen? Why in the name of Lifestream did their parents have to be taken away?

A tense silence followed, with Denus occasionally glancing over his shoulder. Whatever happened, they needed sleep, as hard as that sounded. "We might as well rest," Denus sighed; knowing actually sleeping was a far off thought.

Zack nodded in consent, "We'll think of a plan in the morning..." He muttered, however no one moved from there spot, guilt crushing down on them. Were their parents disappointed? Maybe, after all, they had run-even though they told them to-the thought of what they could have done, weighing on everyone's mind.

"I'll take first watch," Zack's words were hollow, as if he was saying them simply because he had too.

Ralu was the first to move, standing up she stretched and then fell down on her back with a thud. "We're not any good exhausted..." She remarked before rolling over, and trying to sleep, instead of thinking of her parents and where they were.

Misaine rolled her eyes good naturally at her, before nodding her consent. The blonde Turk looked at Denus and patted his shoulder; the two shared a small, sad smile before lying down on the soft grass.

Lilaye gave Zack a soft, sympathetic smile. Getting up she hugged him around the shoulders, whispering low enough for only him to hear. "It'll be okay…You did well." Then the girl left to lie down beside her siblings.

Zack gave her a half-hearted smile as she walked away, then watched as everyone laid down, he was going to keep watch, just in case. He figured he'd wake Denus up for the next shift, that and he was more restless then he'd ever been. His last words with his father were a stupid fight that got out of hand, perfectly cliché.

Why did he run? What if he stayed, would it have helped? He was just as good as his father-if not slightly better-at Swordplay, all these "what ifs" were driving him to insanity. Maybe his dad was right, maybe he was stupid.

Only an idiot would get caught in this situation, groaning softly he looked at the full moon. He had rarely seen the sky this clear; the city wasn't known for star gazing. If the circumstances were different, he'd be in awe at how bright the night sky was.

As it was, all he felt was soul crushing guilt, he didn't deserve the carry the "Strife" name, that name held hero, honor, and respect. Things that he rarely or didn't have, no wonder his dad was ashamed of him.

_'Lifestream help us...'_ Zack thought sadly, he needed a sign of where to go. Of what to do, how could he help his friends and family who had been there for all his life? All he wanted was a sign of where or what he should do, did no one want to help?


	5. Plans to Make

"Alright, we need a base plan..." Zack stared at his friends and family, a seriousness in his eyes they had never seen before.

Zack, Denus, Misaine, Lilaye, Valonica, Kalane, Trainor and Geniji were sitting in a circle, while the rest were keeping the smaller children entertained. They had to figure out where they were going; going back to Edge was halfway suicidal and halfway stupid at this point.

"First off, we need to get the children to safety." Denus reminded, glancing over to the children who were distracted, mostly, with the teenagers.

Geniji shook her head at him, "who can we get to watch them? Everyone we trust was in Edge!" The blonde woman told him, who could they get to watch four little kids?!

Zack scratched the back of his head, get kids to safety; also they needed the Shera 10.3. "Trainor, Denus where did your dad land the Shera?" Zack questioned, because he didn't see any sign of the mighty Airship.

Trainor stood up and looked around, trying to figure out which part of Edge they had run out of. From the looks of things, they were roughly south east of Edge. Trainor sighed slightly, before telling them.

"Looks like we're 'bout south east, while the Shera is roughly north east."

Zack groaned, great, the Shera was probably a good couple hour walk or run, depending on how fast they went. Least Trainor knew where they were, they were close to the ruins of Midgar. Zack's eyes lit up-to Denus chagrin-as a plan formed in his head.

"I got it!" The swordsman exclaimed excitedly, standing up. "Okay, Trainor, you Misaine, Ralu, Ryfi, Kalane, Grimoire and Clyan go find the Shera with the kids, find somewhere to house them," Zack couldn't help how proud he looked, things might go their way yet.

Denus stood up and gave Zack a cool gaze, "okay Zack and what will the rest of us do?" Denus questioned, confused on what Zack was thinking.

"The rest of us will check out Midgar," The second the words were out of Zack's mouth, the group stared at him in shock. Midgar? Was he crazy? They had been warned, constantly, to never enter Midgar. Told stories of how dangerous it was and they were never to enter.

"I know, it sounds crazy," Zack agreed with them, but the stories they had been told of their parents past said Midgar was a 'special' place. Zack quickly glared at Trainor who coughed into his hand, "crazy ass."

"But just think of what we've been told, Midgar might hold the answers!" Zack insisted, he knew of the dangers of Midgar, how it was a place no one should enter, it was best left to dust. But right now, they had more important things to worry about instead of old ghost stories, Midgar was the hub of usual enemies, so why not?

Denus stood up and clasped a hand on Zack's shoulder, "normally I'd say you were crazy." Denus remarked, having been a part of almost all of Zack's schemes. "But this time, you're right."

Zack grinned at his best friend, glad he agreed with him. Zack glanced at Lilaye who was looking at him with a wide smile, standing up she grinned at him. "I say we go! I've always wanted to see Midgar," Lilaye agreed, she trusted Zack and his judgment, no matter what.

Misaine sighed and muttered something about "a fool's mission," but stood up and nodded, showing she wasn't against it. Trainor shrugged, and told him it was his call. Long as he got to fly the Shera, he was happy.

Kalane nodded at him, "whatever your call is, I will follow." Kalane said respectfully, Misaine, Trainor and Kalane walked over to the others, explaining the plan of action.

"Zack, I often wonder what goes on in that brain of yours," Geniji muttered, but was smiling slightly as she stood up. "But if you say Midgar could hold answers, I'm there."

Valonica arched an eyebrow at him, Midgar was a very dangerous place, and her parents absolutely hated it. "I don't approve," Valonica said slowly, standing up with her arms crossed. "Regardless, the place could hold our answers."

Zack's grin grew as he pumped his fist in the air; they now had a plan, only thing left to do will be to follow through with it!

"Okay then," Zack stretched slightly as he said, "we'd best set out immediately."

|X|X|X|

Goodbyes were exchanged between the Strife's and Valentine's to their nieces and nephews, promising they'd see them again and to be good. Misaine and Trainor promised they'd come and get them as soon as the children were safe, then group of Misaine, Trainor, Ralu, Ryfi, Kalane, Grimoire and Clyan were off to find the Shera. While Zack, Denus, Lilaye, Valonica, R.J., and Geniji were off to the Ruins of Midgar.

Zack and his group walked for the next couple of hours, fighting any stray monsters along the way. By the time it was early noon, the group had reached the Ruins of Midgar. The six stared in a mixture of awe and horror at the desolate area: Rusty pieces of metal plates were hanging dangerously, with a path of crumbling buildings in front of them.

"I guess this is Midgar," Zack mused stepping forward. All the stories never prepared him for such a ruined city, to think this was once the capital of the world. A pang of guilt settled in him as he thought about Edge, how it could potentially turn into this.

"Which way do we go?" Denus asked as they all glanced at the sunlit path which was lined with crumbling buildings and various junk, then the pile of rusted and half-way destroyed metal, leading to higher up.

Zack looked between the two paths; it was like one of those fairy tales. Where the hero had to choose the sunny path or the dark dreary path. Sighing he walked to the pile of metal, "This way." Zack decided lifting a hand to grab onto a piece of metal, only for it to get yanked away.

Zack turned his head to see Lilaye looking at him nervously, the others behind her. "Zack, are you sure about this...?" Lilaye glanced at the metal, then Zack. Concern shining in her crimson eyes, she did trust Zack's judgment, but had a bad feeling about this place.

"'Course, Lily." Zack assured, placing a hand over hers. Zack removed her hand, and then climbed up onto a ledge. Zack turned around to help her up, only for her and Valonica to jump over his head and land behind him, he blinked then turned around and glared at the two smirking women.

"Alright, spring twins." Zack muttered, before helping Denus up, who was not gifted with enhanced parents. Eventually the six were on the ledge and climbing up; soon they were looking over the area.

The plates-as they had heard them be called that-were falling in towards the middle. Random metal and dead wires hanged around dangerously, along with pieces of metal missing and a whole plate had crashed through. Buildings were only rubble, and what may have been walls at one point, staircases and pipes leading to areas higher up.

"Holy shit..." Denus breathed, stunned at the city. This was once where anyone who was anyone lived? The years before they existed looked much harder than their parents had made it seem, a part of Denus wished he could have seen it in its prime, not a junkyard.

"Who goes first?" Geniji asked unable to believe that this used to be the capital, maybe in its prime. But now it was nothing but a junkyard, a ruined junkyard with an opportunity for death around every corner.

Zack sighed and jumped down, landing on the plate only for him and the plate to wobble. "Zack!" Lilaye cried, reaching for his hand. Zack managed to rest his hand on the side wall, thankful the floor had stopped moving.

"It's okay," Zack tried to say reassuring, though his heart was pounding. "We just have to tread carefully."

Slowly and cautiously, the others softly landed on the unstable plate. The group didn't dare to breathe; afraid anything could trigger a piece of the rusted metal to cave. Unfortunately, the group didn't notice the soft red light that lit up briefly on the walls; all of them had a number from zero to eight.

"What do these numbers mean?" Geniji asked, walking over to one. The rest followed looking curiously at the faded numbers. R.J. bent down, staring at the number as he tried to remember the history lesson he got when he was a kid.

"I believe, these are-were-the plate numbers," R.J. told them as he stood up, explaining about the system Shinra had used as they continued their walk. Going on a mini lecture about the indebt sytthem Shinra used and how they cast people with less money down below in the slums.

"It was vaguely fascinating, despite how evil they were, they put a lot of time into their city." R.J. remarked, though he knew Shinra was evil, it was a unique way of living, which thankfully they didn't incorporate into Edge.

The group had stepped onto the plate numbered "Five" when a soft, barely audible click sounded, only the Strife's and Valentine's were able to hear it.

"Did you hear that?" Geniji asked slightly fearful, backing up to where she was standing beside Denus. Valonica was looking around, waiting for something-anything to jump out.

R.J. shook his head, "That is feasibly impossible." R.J. told them, standing with his back to the wall, "This city has been dead for well over twenty-five years, if not longer. There is-Something behind me, isn't there?" He finished exasperated at seeing all of their eyes widen as they nodded slowly.

The young inventor turned around slowly and gulped at seeing a winged creature: It had black leathery skin and large bat-shaped wings; the thing was easily seven feet tall with yellow glowing eyes.

A mechanical hissing sound was heard as seven more of them came out, each from a different plate. Slowly a metal bomb came out of the wall in front of them. Just as it started ticking, the bat-like creatures dove at them, with an ear piercing hiss.

|X|X|X|

"Are we there yet?"

One would think the question was being asked by an impatience child, sadly the one asking the question repeatedly was a smirking Ralu, much to Trainor's irate. She hadn't much else to do, Ryfi, Grimoire, Clyan and Kalane were dealing with a child a piece, and she was on "Guard Duty."

Which mainly consisted of fighting any and everything that thought they looked like lunch, so while there were no monsters, she had enough time to annoy the hell out of one easily irritated pilot.

"Are we there-Owww!" Ralu shrieked, as she was about to ask the question again, only for Trainor to hit her on the head with a nice sized book. Ralu scowled at the now haughty, smirking pilot as the young wanna-be Turk, clutched her head.

"What was that for!?" Her shriek penetrating the silence, much to Misaine displeasure and annoyance, the young woman took a deep breath and told herself if they weren't finished in five minutes, she'd beat them into silence!

Trainor just broke out into laughter, girl had it coming. Even the children and the other teenagers were laughing; Ralu turned around and held a hand over her heart, asking in a fake wounded voice. "Ryfi, you mock my pain?"

Ryfi shook her head and coughed into the palm of her hand, trying to hide her amusement. Ralu looked at the others; everyone was trying to hold in laughter except Grimoire, who was openly chuckling.

"Oh? You also mock my pain?" Ralu asked, placing her hands on her waist. Giving him a mock glare, well at least the tense mood was lifted; having a concussion might be worth it.

"You had it coming," Grimoire admitted, which was the one thing the teenager didn't want to hear. Especially since he had an irritating smirk, Ralu scowled at him, she always had the upper hand in there verbal spars!

Before Ralu could potentially curse Grimoire to next century, Misaine turned around and stopped all laughed with a short word. "Enough!" Her voice booked no arguments as she glared at Ralu, who was looking at her sheepishly.

"Ralu if you ever want to be a Turk, shut up, we need to keep quite." Misaine's voice made the Young Turk-along with everyone else-feel embarrassed. The group continued walking in a tense silence, with Ralu and Grimoire behind.

Ralu glanced at him, knowing she could let it go, or get her revenge...The red head leaned over and whispered slowly in his ear, making him stop, with a bright red hue on his face, and stare blankly ahead for a while as various ideas went through his head, he shouldn't have.

"Next time I get injured, I'll let you kiss it better," Feeling like a confident woman, Ralu walked ahead with a cocky swagger.

The group continued on, it was high noon by the time the Airship came into view. Everyone's eyes widened, all felt their hearts stop at seeing the Airship was surrounded by at least fifty of the soldiers from Edge, along with a woman standing in the middle, looking at the ship.

The group hid behind a boulder, causiously Misaine, Ralu, Ryfi, Trainor, Grimoire and Clyan looked over. The woman-who appeared in be in her thirties-Was obviously the leader, her brunette hair in a braid. She was dressed in a white, puffy blouse, with black leather pants tucked into her knee high black boots. Her hands were covered by red gloves, each holding a katara.

The five ducked down, trying to figure out how to get the Airship. Of course someone would find it; it wasn't exactly hard to miss. Sadly they had the children with them, so they had to be extra cautious.

"We need you to stay put and keep quiet." Misaine instructed to the children, to which three nodded, and the youngest one giggled quietly to herself and put her fingers to her mouth, making a "shushing" noise.

"Hiroan, can I trust you to keep all of you safe?" Misaine asked, looking at the boy who was looking determined. The young boy nodded, "you can, Misa." Hiroan told her, absentmindedly grabbing Evalon's hand. Feeling brave and proud he was being trusted, he may have been only ten, but his parents had already begun to train him.

Misaine nodded; glad the boy was more like his mother. The young woman glanced over the boulder to see the Woman approach the Shera and touch it, the woman nodded and Misaine could see the barest hint of a smile.

Ducking back down, the adults and teenagers each shared a collective look. They were going to need a plan, one that wouldn't involve them getting captured, killed or the children hurt in anyway.

Misaine held back a sigh, her parents told her life wasn't fair, and they were right. Things managed to look up for a while too, now they were going to have to find a way to get the Airship back, and from what she could tell, there was at least a hundred-if not more-soldiers.

"Alright," Misaine began, sitting down Indian style. "Here's the plan."


	6. Falling So Far

I'm trying to decide if I need to rewrite this...Oh well, it'll be okay, for now. If anyone thinks it needs rewriting or something, let me know.

* * *

A beautiful brunette stared at the massive Airship in front of her. It truly was a magnificent craft. Sleek, powerful, and if it wasn't painted such a shimmering silver, could inspire fear. She had little hope of finding their aircraft, assuming they'd have hidden it. Then again they were living in times of peace...Peace, the very word was laughable. Peace was a foreign concept. It couldn't last, nor could it ever truly exist.

Words like peace, hope and faith. They were merely said to reassure a child. Peace could never be truly realized, because it was in human nature for someone to rise up. Hope was ridiculously, because when one said they hoped for peace, they were hoping for a fools dream. And having faith in hope and peace, was believing in a notion that everyone was good, that the world was black and white.

Truly they were stupid; one would think they'd learn that this world was made with too many shades of gray. They got cocky, assuming nothing would ever rise up. Idiots, she thought as she shook her head. Something would always rise up, someone would always try to rule. How could these people get so weak?

Her eyes snapped down to her ringing phone, resting on the belt on her hip. Looking at the caller ID, she answered it. "To what do I owe the pleasure of thy's call, sir?" Her voice had a distinct Middle English accent.

Her hand grazed the ships haul, marveling at the fine machinery as she listening to the voice on the other end. "I shall retrieve her...Undamaged sir, yes." The woman stepped back and looked for a way to open the airship, "I will sir...Oh, please give Equinox my regards...Farewell, sir."

Her hand hovered over a small, concealed button. It blended in with the machine, only one who either knew the ships mechanics or knew what to look for, it would have been missed. Yet the research, the years of gaining knowledge had prepared her for this.

She had just pressed the button, the Airship whirling as it began to slowly open, a bestial, primal roar reverbed throughout the vacant silence. Eternal turned around, her eyes scanning the vast land, the silence had settled once again. Stepping away from the airship, she looked around, waiting for a stray animal to attack.

When the silence kept, only the sounds of the Airship opening, she nodded in satisfaction. Just as she turned around, a red blur tackled her; the two tumbled then ended up with Kalane being on top. His claws digging into her shoulders, as he snarled at the stunned woman.

Her surprised lasted not more than five seconds, with ease she raised her legs up and kicked the beast of her, and leapt up. Ignoring the beast she ran over to her weapons that she left in the ground, just when she grabbed for one of her katar's, a bullet grazed her hand.

Looking up, she glared at a woman standing on top of the airship: Her short blonde hair flying in the wind, her eyes staring emotionlessly into her eyes. Yanking her weapons out of the ground, she shouted: "Attack!" The Soldiers went from hunched, limp figures, to standing upright and began charging towards Kalane.

With ease Eternal drew her weapons from the ground and leapt onto the aircraft. The two women stood facing each other, a steely resolve in both their eyes, both silently appraising the other, trying to find the others weaknesses and strengths.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" Eternal asked coolly, waiting for the other to make one slip, one mistake to allow her the advantage.

Misaine kept still pulling up her gun she aimed it straight at the other woman's chest, prepared to fire and injure her. If they got lucky, they could question her.

"Skip the pleasantries." Misaine said harshly.

The blonde fired her gun, frowning in distain as the brunette drew up one of her katar's and deflected the bullet. "This is how you wish to play?" The brunette asked, a cruel smile curving her face, drawing back, as if to pounce, her eyes lit up in challenge.

"Shall we play then?" Eternal tone was almost coy as she charged towards Misaine; her katar's aiming straight for her heart. Misaine twisted out of the way, firing another bullet only for her to deflect it once again, the two continued in this pattern.

Dodging, twisting, parrying, blocking; a seamless dance of chance on top the airship, with no clear winner in sight. The dance continued for at least fifteen minutes, with the two being no more than a couple of feet away from each other.

"Shall we do this all day? What point is there in this?" Eternal asked, her cunning smirk fading as Misaine gave the barest of smirks, her eyes lit up in triumph.

"The point you failed to realize, is to distract you," Misaine told her, pointing to the field where a hundred soldiers used to be. Eternal turned and gasp in shock, just as the airship hummed the life, steadily rising in altitude.

Without saying a word, Misaine charged forward, slamming her weight into the momentarily stunned woman. The two skidded off the top of the airship, with it now hovering over the land, a good 100ft drop, if not higher.

Misaine angled the two to where they were heading straight down, with Eternal right below her. "Who do you work for?" Misaine asked over the dull sound of the air whooshing, zooming past them.

Eternal snarled, glaring at the blonde with hate clear in her green eyes. "Insolent wrench," she hissed, drawing one of her weapons and slicing her cheek. Misaine flinched in pain and released the brunette, who rushed towards the ground.

A thick rope fell from the airship, wrapping around Misaine's wrist and jerking her to a stop. Lifting the hand, that wasn't holding onto the rope, to her left cheek. She carefully touched the wound, pulling her hand back she saw the red, sticky substance coating her hand.

Looking down, she stared in disbelief at seeing Eternal standing elegantly on her twin weapons, which were implanted into the ground. Shaking her head, Misaine climbed up the rope and accepted the help to get onto the deck.

Without looking at her concerned friends, Misaine headed straight to the control deck, "Trainor." She addressed coolly, causing the young man to look up and wince at the cut on her face.

"Is the Airship ready for flight?"

Trainor nodded, running around and fixing various dials and knobs. "Be kinda hard without a damn crew, but it'll manage until we get to Rocket Town." Trainor explained, pulling a couple of levers near the steering wheel.

Misaine nodded in satisfaction, turning to look out the giant glass window. Looking at her reflection in the mirror, using her right hand she slowly wiped away the blood on her face.

"Good, let's drop the kids off and get Zack and the others."

|X|X|X|

The sun beat down on the six, as the bat-like creatures dived at them, only to fly up just out of reach. The group struggled to fight them, while Valonica gave R.J. coverage to work on the bomb.

Denus propped his spear at an angle, allowing Geniji to run up it and kick one in the face. Then the young blonde, turned around and grabbed the spear, with Denus sending her flying into another one who shot out of way. Geniji landed gracefully on her feet, glaring at the eight bat-like creatures hovering in the sky.

Lilaye's eyes squinted as she tried to aim her gun at the blaring sun; this damn sun was blocking her aim! With her gaze set firmly on the blinding sky, she failed to realize a creature heading for her.

"Lilaye!" Zack shouted in alarm, startling the woman as he sliced at the creature. It let out a sharp hiss as it charged at Zack, with Zack hitting and it blocking the best it could, both making their way to the large gap in the floor.

Lilaye bit her lip as she realized she couldn't shoot the creature without hitting Zack, just when she thought Zack could handle it, she heard him let out a sharp yelp of pain. Her heart pounding in her ears she rushed forward at seeing blood fall from Zack's right arm.

Zack bit his lip to resist the urge to groan, as he managed to slice the thing through the heart. It let out one last hiss before falling down, Zack's eyes closed briefly before opening, the whole world seemed dizzy.

As he looked at his injured arm, he saw a hint of green. Sweet Gaia the things had poison! That would explain why he was falling backwards, "Zack!" He didn't even realize who shouted his name, all he knew was he was falling only to get stopped by something latching onto his uninjured hand.

Zack looked up and blinked his vision blurry as he saw Lilaye's tear-stricken face as his hand kept almost slipping through her smaller ones. He had just barely managed to understand her mumbling of; "I've got you.", "You _can't_ fall.", "Not letting go..."

Lilaye tried to hold back her tears, he wasn't going to fall! It was not his time! Her hands trying to keep him with her, there was nothing for either of them to grab to hold on, nor was there anyway Zack had enough strength to pull himself up.

Zack frowned at Lilaye's face; he knew was he was going to do. He glanced behind her to see Denus and Geniji being bombarded and fighting against the creatures, while Valonica was trying to get R.J. to leave the bomb.

When Zack's blurry gaze fell back on Lilaye, her brows furrowed and her mouth forming a determaned frown, he commanded gently, "smile."

Lilaye looked at him in shock, stunned at his command, "Smile? What are you talking about!?" Lilaye's voice was close to hysteria, while she firmly believed a smile was worth its weight in gold, a freaking smile wasn't going to save them!

"Smile, for me..." Zack was losing consciousness, his voice sounding incredibly sleepy with his eyes half-mast. Before anything happened he wanted to see that smile, the smile he had only seen her grace him with, the smile which made him lose track of time.

A strong wind kicked up, along with a giant air-shaped shadow. The two were lost in there world, they failed to realize the back-up coming. Despite herself, Lilaye smiled, though it came out as more of a grimace. To which Zack smile sleepily back at her, causing a true smile to form on Lilaye's face.

However the smile broke and her eyes widened with fear, horror and shock as Zack slipped out of her hands, falling downwards. Through hooded eyelids he saw Valonica and Denus reaching Lilaye, who had her hand out stretched as if to catch him, with her mouth forming a silent scream, along with a bunch of blurry shadows.

It was too bad his last image of her was her horror stricken face; at least he saw her smile. That was something he would die for-looks like he would too. '_Wonder what dad would say?'_ Zack thought, feeling a bit of guilt at the thought of his parents...

_'Sorry mom, dad, guess I'm not a leader...'_ Was his last thought before he lost consciousness...

|X|X|X|

"He's not dead!" Lilaye protested, despite the fact no one was voicing their concerns.

The group was flying in the 'Shera', Trainor at the wheel, his head cast downwards. The Airship was hovering over the sea; the entire group had no plan of where to go or what to do now that Zack was...

"He's not, okay!?" Lilaye yelled she wouldn't believe it! Zack didn't die, he just didn't! He was rezeliant, strong, invincible! Lilaye looked over at Denus, hoping for him to back her up. However the man kept his eyes cast downwards, unable to look anyone in the eye, Misaine was beside him, keeping a hand on his shoulder yet her eyes were on the floor.

Lilaye looked over at everyone, Clyan and Geniji were huddled together, their heads down as they silently grieved.

Grimoire and Valonica sat beside them. Ryfi and Ralu sitting below them, Kalane had his head in Clyan's lap, whimpering slightly. R.J. was beside Trainor, constantly sighing.

Lilaye felt anger well up inside her, how dare they? How dare they lost faith in Zack!? Standing up she stormed over to Denus, grabbing his shirt collar, she brought his face directly to hers.

"He's not dead..." Lilaye hissed, stunning everyone. Denus gulped as her eyes glowed briefly, "we are going to find him..."

Denus grabbed her hands gently, staring into her determined red eyes, with his own sad blue ones. "Lilaye," He began, trying to make her understand no one, not even Zack, could survive that fall, only to be cut off by her protest.

"No, we don't just give up! We find him." Behind the determination, was a hint of desperation Denus realized. She was refusing, unable to believe Zack could be dead; it just didn't seem to click in her mind.

Knowing that it was almost suicidal to try and hug her in this mood, he did anyways, just like Zack used to do when she became so mad she saw red. She struggled, she yelled, she ignored the pitying looks, but he didn't let go.

"Lilaye, sometimes..." He was getting choked up just thinking of Zack being dead; he didn't want to believe Zack, his best friend. No matter how much trouble he got them into, no matter how much he drove them all insane, he loved him like a brother. And the thought of him being dead, was filling his heart with dread.

"Don't say it..." Lilaye growled, warning Denus that saying, confirming the undeniable truth, was the worst thing he could do. "How can you claim him dead, if you won't go looking for him?"

Why? Maybe because he knew if he saw Zack's lifeless body, he'd probably break down. At least this way a part of him could believe Zack was still alive and not lying dead in a ditch, just the thought was enough to make him shiver.

"Lilaye, maybe..." Denus really had no clue what he was trying to say, looking for any remains of Zack was a smart idea, but he wasn't sure how he would handle it. Sighing in resignation, he nodded and pulled back.

Lilaye allowed herself a tight smile, one that didn't reach her eyes and seemed stiff. "Just, don't get your hopes up..." Denus told her, seeing the slightest understanding in her eyes, knowing that there was a higher chance of finding Zack dead than alive.

"Trainor," Denus started, only for his younger brother to huff and wave him off. "I know, I know, but this thing don't have much fuel left." Trainor told him, glancing at the fuel monitor. "We'd best head to-"

"No!" Lilaye protested, walking over to where she was standing right below the controls. "Trainor we have to go now, any more time we waste is-" Lilaye let the words hang, knowing everyone was thinking the same thing. And if Zack needed them, they had to get there, now.

Trainor nodded, "Alright," He agreed, against his better judgment. Watching how Lilaye's eyes brightened briefly, he hoped they found Zack alive, if not for them then for Lilaye.

"But don't blame me when we crash," He told her sharply, trying to maintain a strong façade, "Hold onto to something, ya'll!" With that quick warning, the ship abruptly veered left, tilting the ship and its occupants to the other side.


End file.
